I suppose saying that your gardening methods are mostly organic is like saying you’re slightly pregnant. If you’re a total purist this is a yes/no sort of thing. I try to keep away from most chemicals, but every now and… Read More »organic, kinda sorta
I don’t deadhead every flowering plant in the garden–That would drive me crazy! Besides there are plants that produce seeds that keep the local bird population happy, and many of these plants are annuals that would only come back next… Read More »sharing with the birds
You probably know someone like this: Through their young adulthood, through the prime dating years, they hit the gym hard, run, watch what they eat, and pay close attention to styles so that they were always immaculately dressed. But then… Read More »deadheading, or, forever 21
I had a few CDs cross my desk that were recorded by a San Diego new music collective called Trummerflora. Their name sounded interesting, but I didn’t think another thing about it. Then in the booklet of one of the… Read More »out of darkness something blooms
Ah summer, the season when the meadow blooms and the stag farts! Here are some sprightly words celebrating the season we’ve just begun. They’re the lyrics to a bouncy little ditty circa the year 1260 that most students going through… Read More »celebrating summer–medieval-style
Summer in my garden began officially on Wednesday, June 25 at approximately 6:35 p.m., when I held in my hands the first ripe tomato of the season. Here’s a shot of the fourth tomato, from yesterday. Seems like a couple… Read More »mistaken identity?
The Japanese language has many poetic names for the seasons. One phrase that I’ve found particularly beautiful is take no aki, or “bamboo autumn.” It refers to the period in middle- to late-spring when leaves of some bamboos turn yellow… Read More »"eucalyptus autumn"
This morning’s LA Times had a cover story on a groundbreaking study that offered some pretty dire projections for the future of California’s 5,500-plus native plant species should the current global warming proceed apace. The findings by several scientists affiliated… Read More »when a hotspot heats up
I’ve killed my share of plants when my pride in being able grow something got in the way of common sense. And then there are cases where the plant gets the serious upper hand. One example of the second situation… Read More »no bad plants?
Here’s another recently completed image in my Destructive Testing series, “Comparative Wilt Test.” James SOE NYUN: Comparative Wilt Test: Oenothera, Osteospermum, Oxalis. Digital pigment print, 16 x 20 inches. The original photos were taken in the late 90s, and my… Read More »beautiful decay